Harry’s Grand Slam Baseball Game

About this board game

Harry’s Grand Slam Baseball Game is a two-player baseball simulation with approximately 20 minutes of play, originally released in 1962. Across nine innings, the Visiting Team bats in the top half and the Home Team bats in the bottom half, with the winner determined by the highest score.

The game uses a special deck of 54 cards representing typical baseball plays. Each player begins with a hand of three cards. When a team is at bat, its manager looks for cards that can help score runs; when pitching, the manager seeks cards that will produce outs for the opposing team.

At the beginning of each half-inning, the batting team plays a card for the first batter. After the result is resolved, that player draws a replacement card. The pitching team then plays a card for the next batter and also replenishes its hand. This alternating rhythm continues until three outs end the half-inning.

• Substitute cards: These are played face up when drawn, with another card placed unseen on top. They can later serve as a pinch hitter or relief pitcher when a useful card is not available.
• Wild cards: These affect base runners without resolving the at-bat, covering events such as wild pitches, passed balls, stolen bases, and balks.
• Fresh hands: After every three innings, both players return their hands to the deck, reshuffle, and draw three new cards.

Runs, innings, and runners are tracked on a stand-up scoreboard screen, creating a compact tabletop representation of a full game. The rules balance luck and skill while keeping the scoring straightforward and distinct from official baseball in only a few ways.

This Heirloom Games Series reproduction includes both its updated rules and the original 1962 rules, including options for three or four players as well as “Slugfest” and “Shutout” variants. Harry’s Grand Slam Baseball Game offers a focused card-driven contest where tactical choices matter from the first batter to the final out.